Audio Interface

[alsemas]

It appears my M-Audio Firewire 410 has completely stopped working, no lights, no power. I've been thinking of upgrading anyway. I'd like to stay under $500. The M-Audio is my first and only, so I really don't know where to go from here. Has anyone ever had this audio interface and upgraded to something better?

[tinozigzag]

RME Firewire 400That is what I use and never found any thing better appart for the Firewire 800.All the best

[alsemas]

Thanks, I'll check it out.

[nickbatzdorf]

The FireFace 400 is $1000.

[Mark Kaufman]

Unless you win this auction in the next 16 hours: Link

[mazz]

The price will vary depending on how many inputs and outputs you need and the quality of the converters. I was in the market for a device that had ADAT input and I settled on an Alesis io26 which seems to work fine. It's certainly built like a tank! It's also got 8 outputs and 8 inputs (analog) which is pretty good for 399.I was also looking at the TC Konnekt 24d which has built in effects which can take some of the load off of the computer. It's a bit more money and may not have the outputs but is worth a look.Of course, none of these devices is worth anything if the company doesn't keep the drivers current! The drivers for the Alesis are current as of January 29th 2008 which is pretty good. If you're on Mac they say it will work with 10.5 which is a good thing if you have a newer Mac. I'm on 10.4.10 and it was pretty much plug and play.If you want to stay with M-audio, the FW1814 looks pretty good. Their stuff is made a bit cheaply and you might have the same issues down the line, though.Good luck,Mazz

[anne]

I just got a Presonus Firestudio for 399 and you get a free controller when you register. Most importantly, its clean and has a lot of headroom.

[timbehrens]

I have a Presonus Firestudio Project and am pretty happy with it for the price. The rebate for the Faderport is a nice addition as well... It's a really useful thing to have around if you aren't using a full mixing board. If you do decide to go with a Presonus product, do a little research at their forums as to what firewire cards are compatible. This may be something to research for other firewire interfaces as well, but I thought it worth mentioning.

[Mark Kaufman]

Quote:I have a Presonus Firestudio Project and am pretty happy with it for the price. The rebate for the Faderport is a nice addition as well... It's a really useful thing to have around if you aren't using a full mixing board. If you do decide to go with a Presonus product, do a little research at their forums as to what firewire cards are compatible. This may be something to research for other firewire interfaces as well, but I thought it worth mentioning.I have learned that if you're using Presonus, you will want a firewire card that uses a TI (Texas Instruments) chipset. This WILL work...there are other brands that could potentially cause some issues. Firewire cards by SIIG use TI chipsets. (It's not always easy to learn what brand of chip is being used.)

[stick]

Assuming you only need 2 ins and outs, check the Apogee Duet ($495). You won't beat the sound quality in the price range and a very slick package.